Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo by Ted W. Lawson is presented in an enhanced reprint edition by Potomac Books, Inc., published in 2003. This work offers a firsthand account of the Doolittle Raid on Japan, which took place in April 1942. Lawson, one of the eighty-five volunteer airmen known as the “Tokyo Raiders,” shares his experiences of the mission that involved launching B-25 bombers from the aircraft carrier Hornet to strike industrial targets in Japan. The narrative captures the challenges faced by the raiders, including fuel shortages and adverse conditions during their escape to China.
Readers will find a vivid depiction of the unorthodox military operation and the emotional landscape of the airmen involved. The book delves into the complexities of warfare, highlighting the feelings of helplessness and determination that characterized the mission. Additionally, Peter B. Mersky contributes new insights into the raid’s origins and situates it within the broader context of early World War II operations against Japan. This edition spans 256 pages and is written in English, making it accessible to a wide audience interested in military history and aviation.
Official synopsis Publisher
Ted W. Lawson’s classic Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo appears in an enhanced reprint edition on the sixtieth anniversary of the Doolittle Raid on Japan. “One of the worst feelings about that time,” Ted W. Lawson writes, “was that there was no tangible enemy. It was like being slugged with a single punch in a dark room, and having no way of knowing where to slug back.” He added, “And, too, there was a helpless, filled-up, want-to-do-something feeling that [the Japanese] weren’t coming–that we’d have to go all the way over there to punch back and get even.” Lawson gives a vivid eyewitness account of the unorthodox assignment that eighty five intrepid volunteer airmen–the “Tokyo Raiders”–under the command of celebrated flier James H. Doolittle executed in April 1942.
The plan called for sixteen B-25 twin-engine medium bombers of the Army Air Corps to take off from the aircraft carrier Hornet, bomb industrial targets in Japan, and land at airfields in China. While the raid came off flawlessly, completely surprising the enemy, a shortage of fuel caused by an early departure, bad weather, and darkness took a heavy toll of the raiders. For many, the escape from China proved a greater ordeal. Peter B. Mersky provides new information on the genesis of the raid, places it in the context of the early operations against Japan, and updates Ted Lawson’s biography.
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